The cursed voyage
Survival. Betrayal. Discovery. How a doomed fleet defied oceans and rewrote history.
Reading time: 6 min
On Wednesday the 23rd of November 1520, we issued forth from the Strait and entered the pacific sea, where we remained three months and twenty days without taking on board any kind of fresh food. We ate but powder of biscuits swarming with worms, which had eaten the good and all stinking
of urine that the rats had made on it. We drank yellow water that had been putrid for many days. We
also ate some ox hides that covered the top of the mast which had become exceedingly hard because
of the sun, rain, and wind. We left them in the sea for four or five days, then placed them for a few
moments on embers, and so ate them; and often we ate sawdust from boards. And of the rats, which
were sold for half a ducat a piece, some of us couldn’t get enough.” Antonio Pigafetta
This is an excerpt from the journal chronicling the expedition to find the far east undertaken by
explorer Ferdinand Magellan. How did these men end up in this nightmare? This is the story of the
first circumnavigation of the world; a journey of ambition, suffering and survival against impossible
odds.
It’s a common misconception that our ancestors thought of the Earth as flat. According to historian
Jeffrey Burton Russel “no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third
century B.C. onward believed that the Earth was flat”. Considering this, and also that people back
then only knew that Asia was extremely far to the east, it seemed very logical that if you were to go
west, maybe the far east would not be as far. Asia is where all the money could be found. India,
China, Japan and the Spice Islands, also called the Maluku Islands, had vast quantities of silks and
spices. The conventional trip on sea took them around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, however the
Portuguese had a firm grip on this trade route. The land-based Silk Road was another option but the
Muslim societies controlled these. Spain also wanted a secure trade route for themselves. This,
together with the fantastical writings of Marco Polo filled with tales of riches, dog-headed barbarians
and other incredulous aspects, is what fuelled Christopher Columbus’ ambition to sail west. He went
on to discover the Americas despite him believing he found the Indies and he would go on to die with
the believe that he found a new way to Asia. 15 years later civilization came to understand that a
new continent had been discovered.
Sea voyages in this era were among the
most dangerous human endeavours. A trip
could last anywhere from a few months to
years. The lack of any medical knowledge
on, for instance, the importance of
nutrition, led to innumerable scurvy related
deaths. Starvation, as is described at the
head of this blog, was also prominent.
Another issue was a complete lack of
accurate maps. The Spanish and
Portuguese geographical assumptions of
this era were mostly based on maps drawn
by the Romans more than a millennia ago,
these were seen as an improvement over the European drawn maps of the time, just imagine how
bad your maps must be. As you maybe have noticed, any mention of a Pacific ocean is completely
absent.
Figure 1: Ptolemy's world map written c. 150CE
And so a man named Magellan decided to seriously attempt locating the far east by sailing past
America, called the West Indies in this era. Sailing under a Spanish flag, the Portuguese explorer left
the harbour with 5 ships and braved the Atlantic ocean. The most prevalent challenge, as was
assumed, was crossing the continent itself. Once
he arrived in America he sailed south past Brazil,
he believed there to be a Strait somewhere in
the continent that would lead to the opposite
side but he didn’t know where. Off the coast of
Argentina one of his ships wrecked after a
terrible storm, leaving 4 ships left. Continuing
down they found their allusive Strait.
And so we reach where we started. Magellan’s
belief is that Asia lies just beyond the Strait, he
doesn’t realise what he’s dealing with: 165 million km 2 of water. An ocean that is twice the size of the
Atlantic, which had been the doom of many sailors; an ocean so vast that its widest point could fit 5
moons, side by side.
Finally, after 98 days of nothing but blue insanity the crew saw habitable land, they reached the
shore of modern day Guam. Magellan’s ships arrive and the men are on the brink of death. Their
enfeebled bodies strewn across the deck. Guam has a tribe of native people, the Chamorro people,
and this moment might be the first time they ever come into contact with an alien people. The sight
of the tall, celestial Spanish ships did not frighten them, it filled them with childlike wonder and
curiosity. Now the Chamorro are a communal people, possession is an unknown concept to them and
everything is shared. They ferry their boats over to
Magellan’s ships, climb aboard and start taking whatever
pleases them; jump over to their boats and take it back to
their island. The Europeans are horrified to see all their stuff
being stolen right in front of them but what they don’t know is
that the natives were preparing gifts and provisions for the
Europeans. One of the natives tries to grab something of
importance and a sailor tries to prevent it. He slaps him in
the face and he gets slapped back. The European proceeds to
grab his knife and stabs the native to death. What follows is a
violent example of the pattern that would repeat throughout
the Age of Exploration. Villages are burnt, locals are killed
and these islands are dubbed “Islas de los Ladrones” (Isle of
Thieves).
After this tragic episode Magellan and his crew continue on westward still seeking the East Indies
when something noteworthy happens. Magellan had a slave with him, Enrique of Malacca, who came
from modern day Malaysia. He begins to understand the language spoken by the locals, which is the
confirmation Magellan had been coveting for so long. This means their westward odyssey has finally
taken them into the east. After finding sanctuary on one of the islands some local fishermen see the
dilapidated men on the shore and get help from local authorities. A lot of politics and a rigorous
attempt at Christianising everything in sight follows. This is another important aspect of his voyage,
his reasoning for imposing his modes of living onto these "pagan" societies is to bring them to Jesus.
His faith in God is what gave him the confidence to almost suicidally embark on this voyage. This
fanaticism proved to be his downfall. After befriending and converting the king of one island he told
Figure 2: Magellan's route through Chile (taken from
Mungfali.com)
Figure 3: The Isle of Thieves as dubbed by Magellan
him that he wanted to aid him in defeating his enemies. This king, Rajah Humadon, had a pagan rival
on a different island. Magellan jumped at the oppurtunity to display the power of the Spanish and
promised to beat his rival. He even refused help offered by Humadon, believing that god would grant
him victory. Leading only 49 men he invaded Mactan island on the 27th of April 1521 and, with the
now christian Humabon watching the ensuing battle, proceeded to get completely overrun by Lapu
Lapu and his 1.500 warriors. Magellan's men got pushed into the sea by a flury of stones and poison
arrows. Magellan defended his men fervently and, after taking a bamboo spear in his arm became
undable to draw his sword. The natives rushed up to him, thrust a spear into his leg and hacked him
to death.
Magellan's legacy would be to have completed the single greatest achievement on the sea, Edward
Gaylord Bourne would pronounce. What happened next is a dramatic betrayal. Humabon, Magellan's
christian blood brother, told the crew to come over for one last feast where they could properly say
goodbye. However, possibly seeing the men as weak without Magellan, he turned on them during
the feast and killed several of them. Some men managed to escape on the ships but many died.
Lacking sufficient numbers they burned one of the ships, two were all that remained. A few months
later in November the crew finally reached the Spice Islands, their original goal. Here they loaded up
on the most valuable of spices, cloves. It was finally time to go home. It’s amazing to imagine what
these men must of felt, they were the first in history to get here sailing west. One of the ships, the
Trinidad, was forced to remain behind due to some serious leaks. After repairs the crew decided to
take the pacific route back however, they were forced back to due storms and strong winds, they
then decided to take the westward route under Africa. On their way they were captured by the
Portuguese and most of them died in Indian prisons. The other ship, the Victoria, which was
commanded by Juan Sebastian Elcano, took the indian Ocean route, they evaded Portuguese patrol
ships, storms, cannibal islands, pirate infested waters and finally made if back to Spain in September
1522. The ship was so heavily damaged that it seemed a miracle. Of the 250 men who left on the
voyage 3 years ago, but 18 men returned. The amount of cloves collected would be enough to pay
for the entire mission. Antonio Piggafetta, the chronicler of the voyage, said now that people know
how big the Pacific Ocean is no one will attempt to sail it, which brings us to our Voyage of Dreams.
The Voyage of Dreams revitalises that same spirit that drove Magellan’s men on their odyssey across
the unknown. Courage, resilience and willingness are all required to brave the vastness of the oceans
as well as the vastness of Earths problems. As we stand on the backs of these giants and many others
we will set out on our own journey, carrying with us the memory and lessons of our ancestors, and
with open hearts endure hardships with hope. Our conviction stands loud, to believe that even in the
face of impossible odds, a dream can change the course of history.
